ON THE MEDS

There were lots of gulls along the Strood Channel because a tractor was cultivating a nearby field on a sunny Monday 6th. This pair of Mediterranean gulls looked particularly eye-catching with matching white eye-liners.

At least five pairs of Mediterranean gulls are pictured here resting on the Strood mud on Monday, having a short break from following the nearby tractor in the fields. At least thirty Mediterranean gulls were noted, although far more must've been mixed in with all the other gulls in the field.

As the tide came closer to the Strood seawall, so did this redshank on Monday. A flock of ninety curlew were flushed off Ray Island, nine shelduck, 16 brent geese and one black-tailed godwit were also noted.

The warm weather on Monday saw six buzzards at various times in the air along the Strood, while a red kite was circling over the Strood field being cultivated by the tractor. A sparrowhawk flew over the channel and another one flew through the Firs Chase garden later on.

The male stonechat was by the Strood dyke, a corn bunting was singing in a weedy field and a meadow pipit flew over calling. A chiffchaff was singing in Firs Chase and another in The Lane.

Two brimstone, two peacock and comma butterflies were seen on the walk.

Early evening on Monday a barn owl was seen hunting the fields by the Strood reservoirs by Carrie Horwood. At the beginning of the day a barn owl was seen by Rob Lee near Barrow Hill, so possibly the same bird or the other bird of the pair.

Carrie also noted by the fishing lakes plenty of Cetti's warblers calling, skylarks, eight brent geese, red-legged partridge, pheasants, wrens, blackcap, little egret as well as a swallow near the Strood.

In the afternoon in the Kingsland Road and Beach Road area, Carrie reported a chiffchaff and blackcap singing, 3 brimstone and 2 peacock butterflies.

In Meeting Lane on Monday morning a willow warbler was heard singing by Martin Cock, also there six blackcaps, 7 chiffchaffs, 5 Cetti's warblers, 2 buzzards, sparrowhawk, kestrel, also small white and several peacock butterflies. Michael Thorley saw a small tortoiseshell in Meeting Lane.

A swallow was seen coming ashore at Cudmore Grove on Monday morning by Jack Hoy.

On Sunday 5th the first swallow of the summer reported on the Island was by Rob Lee as it flew alongside the Strood. Later in the morning two other swallows were seen flying north over the Strood channel thirty minutes apart, continuing their journey to northern breeding grounds.

Clive Pickering also watched a swallow flying along the West Mersea beach near Kingsland Road on Monday morning.

Birds noted along the Strood seawall on Sunday included a marsh harrier, two great crested grebes, ten brent geese, seven shelduck, a pair of gadwall and the local pair of stonechats.

At the end of Sunday, a barn owl was watched by Carrie Horwood hunting behind the Strood fishing lakes, quartering the area for nearly twenty minutes. 

On Saturday 4th a nest full of mallard eggs was found on top of the Maydays seawall. Having momentarily stopped during my walk on the seawall, a female mallard was seen flying low across the mud away from the seawall. I noticed that she was waiting on the mud for me to walk on by, before she returned to the nest.

Birds noted during the walk along the Maydays seawall were 6 marsh harriers, 4 buzzards, 15+ lapwings in the grass fields, 25 golden plover, 15 stock doves in the fields, 30 shelduck, 8 teal, four great crested grebes, 3 dunlin, six little egrets, four Cetti's warblers singing, chiffchaff and blackcap also singing, while a yellowhammer was calling.

A whitethroat was reported via Birdguides on Saturday near the Dog and Pheasant pub.

A Tawny Mining Bee was photographed in the Firs Chase garden on Saturday.

On Friday 3rd a ring-tail hen harrier was seen by Martin Cock at Maydays farm flying over the fields heading roughly south-west. Also 2 marsh harriers, 2 buzzards, 20 golden plover, 40 stock doves in the fields, a water rail squealing, while blackcap, chiffchaff and Cetti's warbler were heard singing.

Six pairs of pochard were seen by Rob Lee on Friday on a pond at Bower Hall farm.

Birds of interest along the Strood seawall on Friday included a great crested grebe, black-tailed godwit, marsh harrier, two buzzards, four little egrets, while a song thrush and two chiffchaffs were near the Firs Caravan park. 

On Thursday 2nd the leucistic redshank was back on the Golfhouse saltmarsh pools, photographed here by Andy Field.

A seemingly poorly knot was photographed by Andy on Stone Point - presumably the same bird seen by Michael Thorley here a week earlier.

A grey heron photographed by Andy on the park pond on Thursday. Also noted by Andy at the park were four chiffchaffs, 2 blackcaps, 2 Cetti's warblers, ten lapwings in the fields, pair of swans in the central ditch and a pair of pochard on the dyke.

In the Rewsalls marsh area, this group of turnstones was resting at high tide on the old concrete seawall. Seventy turnstones and forty redshank, two dunlin, two oystercatchers and a grey plover were the waders seen at high tide, while two Mediterranean gulls, 3 little egrets were also noted. 

Offshore was a great northern diver and also thirty great crested grebes.

Six linnets were seen in the area of the Youth Camp, also singing chiffchaff and blackcap.

A small white butterfly was along a field edge near the East Mersea boating lake on Thursday.

Two peacocks were also seen in the area of the Youth Camp on Thursday.

At West Mersea a sedge warbler was seen by Steve Entwistle in the Strood borrowdyke bramble bushes on Thursday afternoon, also a chiffchaff and 2 greenfinches seen in Feldy View cemetery.

A sedge warbler was back from Africa to sing in the bramble bushes in the Strood corner reedbed on Wednesday 1st. Only a faint burst was heard from the other sedge warbler in the dyke nearer the caravan park, the stonechat was noted. A great white egret was seen flying south-west over Ray Island, a marsh harrier and buzzard also noted.

Along the channel were two greylag geese flying, 20 brent geese, great crested grebe, 25 turnstones, five dunlin, black-tailed godwit, while song thrush was by the caravan park.

A little owl was seen by Steve Entwistle on Wednesday evening at Bromans Farm.

The regular wintering black brant was spotted again in the Strood channel opposite the Firs Caravan park on Tuesday 31st. Also along the channel were seventy brent geese, 12 shelduck, two great crested grebes and twenty black-tailed godwits. A marsh harrier and two buzzards were seen flying about.

The first sedge warbler of the spring back onto the island was in the Strood dyke on Tuesday. Also one stonechat, 15 linnets, four reed buntings, meadow pipit, while six chiffchaffs were noted on the Firs Chase / Firs Caravan park / Fedy View circuit.

The male stonechat photographed by Steve Entwistle along the Strood seawall, while watching the sedge warbler in the area early Tuesday afternoon.

An unexpected visitor to the bright moth light in the Firs Chase garden was this smooth newt found on the whitish-sheet. It was a bit chilly that Tuesday night for it to find any insects to feed on.